The big announcement news today is that 20th Century Fox has officially set The Birth of a Nation for release on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on 1/10. Extras on the Blu-ray will include audio commentary by director Nate Parker, deleted scenes with optional commentary (also included on the 4K), the #AmeriCAN short film with optional commentary, the Rise Up: The Legacy of Nat Turner documentary, 4 featurettes (The Birth of a Nation: The Making of a Movement, “Free God” Spoken Word, Celebration of Independent Voices: Nate Parker, and Shooting Script), and an image gallery. [Read on here…]

We here at The Digital Bits are big fans of Shout!’s Scream Factory division and, not unlike Todd Doogan’s Criterion Spines Project, we wanted to cover Scream Factory’s releases by catching up on a bunch that we’ve missed while acknowledging the previous ones. We’ll also be covering new ones here as well. This column will go up on a bi-weekly basis, so be sure to check back in another two weeks for another pile of Scream Factory goodness.

First up is a double feature of Tales from the Crypt and Vault of Horror, both terrific horror anthologies. Tales from the Crypt in particular contains one of the creepiest and more effective Christmas horror stories. Speaking of Christmas, new on the slate is a Collector’s Edition of Black Christmas, a title long sought after by Scream Factory fans and one that I believe many will feel was worth the wait. Also new on the chopping block is Jack’s Back, a great little thriller mostly forgotten by genre fans. Next is George A. Romero’s Monkey Shines, one of his most enjoyable non-Dead movies. And last but not least is a double feature of TerrorVision and The Video Dead, one of Scream Factory’s earliest releases and still one of their most fun. [Read on here…]

Fox Home Entertainment has just announced the Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, and Digital HD release of Tim Burton’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children on 12/13 (see the official announcement by Burton here). The 4K SKU will include Dolby Atmos audio. Extras on all the BD versions will include 4 featurettes (The Peculiar Story, The Peculiars, Hollows and Ex-Hollows, and Map of Days), Florence + The Machine’s Wish That You Were Here music video, and a gallery of photos and never-before-seen sketches by Tim Burton. [Read on here…]

All right, this is going to be our last regular post until Monday, though we will be back on Friday to let you know about any great Blu-ray or 4K deals worth mentioning. But we do have a few things for you...

We here at The Digital Bits are big fans of Shout!’s Scream Factory division and, not unlike Todd Doogan’s Criterion Spines Project, we wanted to cover Scream Factory’s releases by catching up on a bunch that we’ve missed while acknowledging the previous ones. We’ll also be covering new ones here as well. This column will go up on a bi-weekly basis, so be sure to check back in another two weeks for another pile of Scream Factory goodness.

First up is Beneath, a Larry Fessenden giant fish movie that I’m actually a little less hard on than I was when I originally wrote the review. Today, I’d probably give it more of a B or a B- as it’s grown on me since then. New to Blu-ray this week are both Rabid and Dead Ringers, a pair of David Cronenberg movies that are stacked with some great extras worth digging into. Also new, at least as far as catching up with older Scream Factory titles is concerned, is The Monkey’s Paw, a Chiller movie that actually has some merit. And last but not least, Paul Schrader’s terrific remake of Cat People. [Read on here…]

The big news today is that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has set a Jerry Maguire: 20th Anniversary Edition for release on Blu-ray on 1/3. The film has been remastered in 4K (though strangely, there’s no 4K Ultra HD release currently announced). New material in the set will include nearly 60 minutes of deleted and extended scenes, the 3-part Jerry Maguire: We Meet Again retrospective documentary, a new written introduction by writer/director Cameron Crowe, a photo gallery, and the film’s soundtrack on CD, as well as legacy extras. You can see the packaging below.

Also, Lionsgate has revealed the next pair of entries in their Vestron Video Collector’s Series Blu-ray line, which are due on 1/31. Look for Bob Balaban’s Parents (1989) and Ken Russell’s The Lair of the White Worm (1988). SRP is $34.97 each. [Read on here…]

About Bill Hunt

Bill Hunt is the Editor in Chief of The Digital Bits, and the co-author (with Todd Doogan) of the Amazon Top 50 selling book The Digital Bits: Insiders Guide to DVD. Hunt founded The Bits in 1997, in the early days of the DVD format,…